That DJ Who Sues The Car Companies

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
02/27/2015 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

People who listen to my podcasts sometimes have to keep up because I talk a bit too fast. Or, as the joke goes, they're listening too slow. One reason for that, however, is that I was a radio DJ before I was an attorney. And here is the audio proof.

Before I went to law school I worked in radio in mid-Michigan, with my last on-air job at WWCK in Flint. Along the way I played Country, Oldies and Top-40. About one month after this tape was created, I was in California listening to lectures on Contracts and Torts and biding my time until I could sue the car companies over defective cars.

Later, when I returned to Michigan, I became an attorney and began my career of representing consumers who had bought defective cars. I did a few talk shows along the way and then, most recently, a podcast. So, for the sake of cheap entertainment, here is a clip of what you might have heard if you tuned your radio to 105.5 FM that fateful summer before I left show business.

I simply grabbed a couple of breaks which I thought were fairly representative of what I sounded like playin' the hits. (Full disclosure: the b & w pic was taken at a previous station. I have no photos from the CK-105 studios. You'll just have to believe your ears.)

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It's only a minute and 14 seconds long and No, you can't have the time back after you listen. This 1:14 comes with no guarantees, no warranties, expressed or implied. Like the people of Flint you get what you pay for. And you paid nuthin'.

And here is what I sound like today, in my most recent podcast:

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A little less frantic without Lita and Ozzy under my voice?And I just noticed that I used a bunch of archaic words above that the kids won't understand, like tape and radio . We'll discuss what those mean in a future post.

Subscribe to my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we're not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn't act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

DISCUSSION (20)

thebigbossyboss > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:06

This girl I am seeing works for an organization that provides after school care to young children. She was listening to a tape with one of the kids, and she said she would have to rewind it at a certain point.

Kid (about 6) goes "what does rewind mean?" Mind = blown.

SteveLehto > thebigbossyboss
02/27/2015 at 09:08

I'm surprised more kids don't wonder why we say we will "dial" a phone number.

505Turbeaux > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:09

Jeez you look kind of like John Lydon in profile with a mic hiding some of your face. In a good way of course

thebigbossyboss > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:09

Yes. People used to memorize everyones phone numbers. Now I only know numbers that people got for certain landlines before cell phone use was wide spread.

SteveLehto > 505Turbeaux
02/27/2015 at 09:11

I kid you not, I have had a couple other people say that when they saw this pic. More a matter of angles, lighting and whatnot.

505Turbeaux > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:14

I opened the link and was like "I didnt know Johnny Rotten was a lawyer who goes after car companies"

-It's early, no amount of bacon, sausage, or coffee can touch on a recovery this morning just yet

E. Julius > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:33

What a nice surprise! A little slice of home from one of my local radio stations while I'm here in Paris. 1989 is before my time but it's surprising how similar it sounds to a modern broadcast.

Tohru > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:35

10/10 would tune in on the morning commute.

Kinda wish I could download this audio clip so I could use it in a custom radio station in Grand Theft Auto 4.

SteveLehto > E. Julius
02/27/2015 at 09:38

I think we discussed our common connection to Flint before, right? The audio clip is from CK-105 and the photo is from WTRX which is not going to sound familiar to you at all. They were an oldies station at the time but in 1989 they got sold and eventually changed formats. Not even sure what or if they are broadcasting now. I worked there for a few years before moving over to CK.

The WTRX studios were on Bristol Rd, east of Dort in a little building with the antennae out back. Last time I went by, the building was long gone.

SteveLehto > Tohru
02/27/2015 at 09:40

I have stacks and stacks of tapes from this era. The problem with radio is that it is not designed to be listened to over and over again. Cutting and editing the piece to put here - I had to listen to it several times. I'm already sick of it all over again.

One cool thing I will point out - the JET sound effect in the open is stereo. You can hear it whoosh by from right to left. (It's really pronounced if you are wearing headphones).

E. Julius > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:47

Yes we have! I haven't heard of WTRX before, but it looks like they're an AM sports radio station (explains why I haven't heard of them) broadcasting out of Mundy township these days. I also noticed you referring to GMI, which of course is now Kettering University. Some things change and some things stay the same…

Tohru > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:49

WTRX 1330 AM ("Sports XTRA 1330") is the Flint affiliate for the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, Pistons, and Wolverines, as well as ESPN Radio. In '89 they became a Z-Rock affiliate station, and went off the air in 1990. In the mid 90's it simulcast the sports format from Bay City's WMAX AM, until it got its own format in 1996. They got bought by Cumulus Media in 2011.

According to the station's website, they're currently located at 6317 Taylor Drive in Mundy Township. Wikipedia still says the transmitter's on Bristol, and Google Street View shows a building and 3 transmitters at that location as of August 2011.

Tohru > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 09:54

You say that, and I've listened to it like five times already.

GTA's radio stations repeat - it's the nature of the media. But since you're busy playing and completing missions, you don't notice. Heck, Top 40 radio repeats itself nowadays.

SteveLehto > Tohru
02/27/2015 at 10:05

I think I knew some of that. But I don't spend as much time in Flint as I used to. I knew about the Z Rock (that was full automation, piped in from somewhere else) and then I knew about them going off the air. I suspect the towers are still where they used to be but the little building that housed the studios is gone.

Thanks for the update.

SteveLehto > E. Julius
02/27/2015 at 10:06

That's funny - I forgot that I mentioned that in the one break.

XJDano > SteveLehto
02/27/2015 at 10:35

I can't wait for highs to be back in the 80's.

offyatindy > SteveLehto
03/02/2015 at 14:42

YEAH!!!! You keep that up and you will never be President. (Just think of Howard Dean. Who?)

But on the good side, I heard every word and it only took 42 seconds of my life!

Thanks for the great articles.

SteveLehto > offyatindy
03/02/2015 at 14:43

But when I yelled, I had good reason. 82 degrees!

Thanks.

BuickSuper > SteveLehto
03/09/2015 at 14:38

That takes me back! Right back into my parent's K car and Omni. I always preferred WWCK to 102.5 and their party lizard. I was tuning in from down the road in Durand.

SteveLehto > BuickSuper
03/09/2015 at 14:40

At 105 we had a jingle which had a piece of audio played backwards. I kid you not, if you played it frontwards, it said: The party lizard is the devil.

I have no idea if anyone outside of the station knew that but it was hilarious.

Good times!